Economy News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumers stepped up their spending in November and grew more optimistic this month, data showed on Friday, raising hopes a self-sustaining economic recovery was starting to unfold. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumers felt better in December, as the job market shows signs of improvement and retailers dangle steep discounts to goose up holiday sales, a survey released on Friday showed. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Businesses unexpectedly increased their inventories in October, halting a slide of 13 consecutive declines. The small gain, along with a fifth straight increase in sales, raised hopes that businesses will begin restocking their depleted shelves, helping support the economic recovery. Full Story »

SHANGHAI - China's exports are making a comeback after a jarring slump threw millions out of work, a sign of improving global demand that along with a torrent of stimulus money is accelerating recovery in the world's No. 3 economy. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Treasury said Friday it expected to get 936 million dollars from warrants in banking giant JPMorgan Chase, under a previously announced divestment. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US retail spending jumped 1.3 percent in November led by auto and electronics sales, government data showed Friday in a positive economic sign amid the critical holiday shopping period. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Retail sales rose more than expected in November, boosting hopes that the all-important consumer sector will support the fragile recovery. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. import prices rose 1.7 percent in November in their largest gain since June, driven higher by fuel costs, a government report showed on Friday. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Retail sales are expected to show a slight advance in November, but consumers still appear hesitant to spend big, a major obstacle facing the economic recovery. Full Story »

NEW YORK - Nancy Falchuk will never forget the phone call. She was in Boston, it was raining and the news was bad. Hadassah, the century-old Jewish charity she had been elected to lead a year earlier, had just lost a big chunk of its endowment in a Ponzi scheme — maybe as much as $90 million. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration plans to channel money from the government financial bailout fund to small businesses in an effort to stem the political and economic fallout of high unemployment, the Washington Post said in its Friday editions. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Black lawmakers who have largely held their tongues during President Barack Obama's first year in office are stepping up their demands that the nation's first black president do more for minority communities hit hardest by the recession. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Inch by inch, Americans are recovering some of their vast loss of wealth from the recession, thanks to gains in stock investments and home values. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than 500 construction projects in New York City have stalled during the recession, the majority of them in the borough of Brooklyn, according to a report released on Thursday. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US household net worth rose for a second straight quarter in the July-September period as Americans reduced their debt by the largest amount on record, a Federal Reserve report showed Thursday. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Banks borrowed slightly less from the Federal Reserve's emergency lending program over the past week. Full Story »

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co.'s current share price of around $9 is based on optimistic assumptions that could falter as the economy continues its recovery, a Credit Suisse analyst said in a report Thursday. Full Story »

PORTLAND, Ore. - Consumer spending remains sluggish as the economy weighs on shoppers. That is changing the landscape for this holiday season. Retailers, more than ever, are trying to find the most precise amount of inventory at the right price to drive sales and not leave them with an excess of unsold items at the end of the year. Full Story »